If persistently high freezing levels prevent a crust from forming, potential for wet loose avalanches in steep terrain will persist too. Reactive new wind slabs should be expected in any alpine areas that saw dry snow accumulate at the end of the storm.
Slight cooling toward the end of the storm may have left reactive slabs perched in leeward features at the island's highest elevations.
Some potential for human triggered wet loose avalanches may still exist on steep slopes at lower elevations if a crust fails to form over the rain-soaked snowpack.
Heavy rain has affected the snowpack at all elevations. With a bit of cooling over Sunday night we should see surface crust beginning to form and eliminate chances of wet loose avalanche activity. In areas where crust may fail to form (think lower elevations), this potential could linger.
Early indications of our region's existing snowpack suggest alpine snowpack depths around 150 cm, depth tapering dramatically with elevation to about 30-60 cm at treeline. Snow cover is thin and generally below threshold for avalanches below about 1300 metres.
Sunday night: Rain easing with a final 2-5mm accumulation. Moderate southwest winds easing by morning.
Monday: Mainly cloudy. Light to moderate southwest winds, potentially strong by afternoon. Treeline high temperatures around 0 to +1.
Freezing levels steady around 1700 m.
Tuesday: Moderate snowfall switching to heavy rain by about noon. Strong to extreme southwest winds. Treeline high temperatures around +5 with freezing levels reaching 3000 metres.
Wednesday: Heavy rain switching to light snowfall late in the afternoon. Strong southwest winds. Treeline temperatures dropping from about +5 to +1 over the day as freezing levels return to about 1600 metres.
We haven't yet received any conditions reports in the region. If you go out in the mountains, please post your observations and/or photos to the Mountain Information Network!
